6 Tips for Maintaining Car Value

6 Tips for Maintaining Car Value

1. Park in Shade/Garage

Whenever possible, park your vehicle in the garage or a covering, this will protect it from the elements. UV rays alone can cause extreme damage to exterior paint and interior upholstery. Wind, rain, hail and even debris can cause other problems such as scratches and dents. Prospecive buyers will quickly notice exterior damage and could potential wonder how well the rest of the vehicle was taken care of.

2. Clean Upholstery/Carpet Stains ASAP

Although car upholstery is made to be stain resistant this is not a 100% guarentee, always clean up stains as soon as you can to ensure there won’t be permanent damage. This is another area prospective buyers will quickly notice and could cause doubts about the quality of the rest of the vehicle.

3. Wax Your Vehicle

Washing your vehicle is obviously recommended by anyone but some car owners forget how important waxing can be. Making sure you wax your vehicle a few times a year will ensure the paint job will look better longer. This is another superficial thing potential buyers will immediately notice and could very well sway their opinion on purchasing the vehicle from you or another party.

4. Be Cautious About Mileage

This is pretty simple, less miles – more value… more miles – less value… Some car owners can’t cut down on mileage quite as much but whenever possible, carpooling or going car-less may be an option. Simple things like walking to the store, over to a friends, etc. can be very helpful in reducing mileage.

5. Regular Maitenance

Cars have to be kept up with to keep to optimimum performance, things such as oil, transmission fluid and coolant should be checked often and changed according to your car’s manual. If any lights come on the dash be sure to investigate them quickly and make any repairs needed.

6. Keep Service Records

This one goes with regular maitenance but car owners often forget to hang on to all of their service records. It is one thing to tell someone there are new brakes, it is another to show them receipts. Always keep any receipts/records for ANYTHING you purchase/service on the vehicle.